Participation level of water users in irrigated water management: A case study of Ban Vern Kham pumping irrigation project, Xaithani District, Vientiane capital, Lao PDR

Abstract

The objective of this research was to study the participation of a group of water users in irrigation water management in Ban Vern Kham Pumping Irrigation Project, Xaithani District, Vientiane, Lao PDR. This was done through analysis of variables and formulation of a participation equation. The study included 105 households for data collection based on their responses to the developed questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and expressed in the forms of frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The analysis of participation variables and stepwise multiple regression was done to obtain an equation to predict the participation level in an irrigation water management program. Based on the findings, the overall participation level was high, with a score of 3.62 (out of 5.00) with a standard deviation of 0.149. Specifically, the participation in planning for irrigation water allocation, as well as operation and maintenance of the irrigation system, had the same score (3.67). A lower score was for participation in allocating the benefits from use of irrigation water (3.53). Additionally, personal factors of water users were not found to affect their participation level. However, their educational levels played a role in their participation in irrigation water allocation planning with a statistical significance of 0.05. Other factors, such as ability to work and income obtained from the water user group were found to have a moderate relationship to participation level. The analysis revealed that the water user group was relatively well established due to strong cooperation and collaboration to find equitable ways to manage irrigation water. The participation level in irrigated water management was a function of users’ ability to work, income obtained from the water user group, and one’s position in water user group.